Drugs and alcohol policy

A drugs and alcohol policy sets the rule (not impaired at work), the testing that enforces it where the roles justify testing, the support for staff with a dependency, and the line between misconduct that is disciplined and illness that is managed. It has to be lawful on testing, which needs consent, a procedure and a data protection basis, honest about work events, and absolute for the roles where impairment kills. I draft the policy for the employer as part of the handbook and core policies for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales in construction, transport, manufacturing, hospitality and any business with safety-critical roles or a workplace where drink and drugs have caused problems.

What matters in a drugs and alcohol policy

The standard at work and the safety duties behind it

The policy should state the rule (no employee to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs at work or to bring illegal drugs onto the premises), the reasons (the employer's duty under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect staff and others, the employee's duty under section 7 to take reasonable care, the offence under section 8 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 of knowingly permitting the production or supply of controlled drugs on premises), and the application to lunchtime drinking, the night before an early shift and residual impairment; a policy that tolerates a pint at lunch in a safety-critical role has no standard.

Testing, consent, procedure and the data protection basis

Testing is lawful only with the employee's consent, which the contract and the policy should provide, and only where it is justified (safety-critical roles, reasonable suspicion, post-incident, random testing in a workforce where the risk justifies it), with a stated procedure (an accredited laboratory, chain of custody, the right to a second sample, the treatment of refusal as a positive), and with a data protection basis for the special category health data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR and the employment condition in the Data Protection Act 2018, with a data protection impact assessment and the results held securely; testing an office workforce at random is hard to justify and the policy should match the testing to the risk.

Prescription medication, dependency and the support offered

The policy should require employees to tell the employer about prescribed medication that could affect their work in safety-critical roles, should treat dependency as a health matter the employee is encouraged to disclose, with support (the employee assistance programme, time off for treatment, adjustments during recovery) and confidentiality, and should say that an employee who discloses a dependency before it is discovered through misconduct will be supported rather than disciplined; addiction to alcohol or drugs is excluded from the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010, but conditions arising from it may be disabilities, and the policy should treat the employee's health with care.

Work events, client hospitality and the grey areas

The policy should set the standard at work events and client hospitality where alcohol is served (the employer's standards of conduct apply, the anti-harassment policy applies, the employee remains responsible for their behaviour, the employer may limit or stop serving), the position on driving after events, the employee's responsibility to be fit for work the next day, and the employer's approach to events with no alcohol or with alternatives; the Christmas party is where the policy is tested, and it should say what applies.

Driving, machinery and the roles where the rule is absolute

For safety-critical roles (driving, operating plant and machinery, working at height, handling hazardous substances, caring for vulnerable people) the policy should state a zero tolerance standard, the testing regime, the duty to report colleagues who appear impaired, the immediate removal from safety-critical duties where impairment is suspected, and the drink and drug driving offences under the Road Traffic Act 1988 for staff who drive for work; the policy should identify the roles so that the stricter standard is known in advance rather than argued afterwards.

Breaches, discipline and the line between misconduct and illness

The policy should state that being under the influence at work, bringing illegal drugs onto the premises, supply, refusal to be tested and endangering others are gross misconduct under the disciplinary procedure, that a positive test leads to the procedure with the employee's explanation heard, that the employer distinguishes a single act of misconduct from a dependency disclosed and treated, and that the outcome in dependency cases may be support with conditions rather than dismissal where the role allows; a dismissal that ignores a disclosed dependency and the support the policy promised is the unfair one.

What it costs

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

Can we test staff for drugs?

With consent, a procedure, a justification matched to the risk and a data protection basis, yes. Random testing suits safety-critical roles; reasonable suspicion and post-incident testing suit most others. The policy sets all of it.

An employee has told us he is dependent on alcohol. Do we discipline him?

Not for the disclosure itself. The policy treats dependency as a health matter with support and conditions, and keeps discipline for misconduct. A dismissal that ignores a disclosed dependency is the one that fails.

Does the policy apply at the Christmas party?

It does, and it says so: the employer's standards of conduct and the anti-harassment policy apply at work events, and the employee is responsible for being fit for work the next day.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Staff handbook for a construction company
• Driving for work policy

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.